[Quantification and improvement of speech transmission performance using headphones in acoustic stimulated functional magnetic resonance imaging].

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has made a major contribution to the understanding of higher brain function, but fMRI with auditory stimulation, used in the planning of brain tumor surgery, is often inaccurate because there is a risk that the sounds used in the trial may not be correctly transmitted to the subjects due to acoustic noise. This prompted us to devise a method of digitizing sound transmission ability from the accuracy rate of 67 syllables, classified into three types. We evaluated this with and without acoustic noise during imaging.

Human TTRV30M localization within podocytes in a transgenic mouse model of transthyretin related amyloidosis: does the environment play a role?

Transthyretin related amyloidosis is a nosological entity that leads to disability, diminished quality of life, all stages of chronic kidney disease and eventually death. Podocytes are polarized, highly differentiated epithelial cells important for proper nephron function. In the present study we investigated whether deposited TTRVal30Met (TTRV30M) molecules could be localized within podocytes in situ under the effect of different housing conditions (i.

Cognitive function in Japanese centenarians according to the Mini-Mental State Examination.

Background/aims: We examined the effect of aging on cognitive function at the limit of human life expectancy by characterizing state of cognition in centenarians without clinical cognitive impairment.

Methods: Participants were 68 centenarians without cognitive impairment (Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) 0), 96 controls 60 to 74 years old, and 46 controls 75 to 89 years old. We visited the places where centenarians were living and administered the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) individually.

Adipose endocrine function, insulin-like growth factor-1 axis, and exceptional survival beyond 100 years of age.

Background: Observational studies have demonstrated similarities between the underpinning of frailty and biological features of centenarians, suggesting that adaptability to age-related multiple physiological decline may be a core component of successful aging. The aim of this study is to determine whether hormonal pathways potentially involved in energy homeostasis contribute to survival beyond 100 years of age.

Methods: We assessed a total of 252 centenarians (mean [standard deviation (SD)] age, 101.

Morbidity of Tokyo-area centenarians and its relationship to functional status.

Background: Research in Western countries has shown most centenarians to be survivors with multiple comorbidities. However, Japanese centenarians' morbidity and its relationship to functional status has yet to be elucidated. The aim of this study is to clarify the association of morbidity with the physical and cognitive function of centenarians.

Functional status of centenarians in Tokyo, Japan: developing better phenotypes of exceptional longevity.

Background: Centenarians are sometimes said to be representative of lifelong healthy aging. Whether they are, in fact, examples of healthy aging remains a subject of debate. The existence of heterogeneity in functional status has been reported repeatedly in previous studies of centenarians.

Contribution of an affect-associated gene to human longevity: prevalence of the long-allele genotype of the serotonin transporter-linked gene in Japanese centenarians.

Negative affect such as depression and anxiety has been reported to be associated with morbidity and mortality, and polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter (5HTT) gene may be associated with such affect disorders. Hypothesizing that 5HTT gene polymorphisms could influence human longevity via negative affect; we compared the polymorphic variation of the 5HTT gene between 265 Japanese centenarians and control subjects. In addition, we evaluated the relationships between the 5HTT genotype and the physical, cognitive, and biologic status of centenarians, as indicated by the Barthel Index, the Mini-Mental State Examination, and serum albumin concentration, respectively.

Protein kinase C and preconditioning: role of the sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Activation of protein kinase C (PKC) is cardioprotective, but the mechanism(s) by which PKC mediates protection is not fully understood. Inasmuch as PKC has been well documented to modulate sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ and because altered SR Ca2+ handling during ischemia is involved in cardioprotection, we examined the role of PKC-mediated alterations of SR Ca2+ in cardioprotection. Using isolated adult rat ventricular myocytes, we found that addition of 1,2-dioctanoyl-sn-glycerol (DOG), to activate PKC under conditions that reduced myocyte death associated with simulated ischemia and reperfusion, also reduced SR Ca2+.

Association analysis of the SHC1 gene locus with longevity in the Japanese population.

The SHC1 gene encodes a signaling and transforming protein that has been implicated in the aging process in worms and mammals. In this study we examined 230 Japanese centenarians and 180 healthy younger controls and looked at the SHC1 locus as a candidate region that may be associated with longevity. We identified 12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within a 10-kb region encompassing the entire SHC1 gene from the DNA of 30 centenarians and 24 healthy younger controls.

Gender differences in sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium loading after isoproterenol.

Males exhibit enhanced myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury versus females under hypercontractile conditions associated with increased sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+. We therefore examined whether there were gender differences in SR Ca2+. We used NMR Ca2+ indicator 1,2-bis(2-amino-5,6-difluorophenoxy)-ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid to measure SR Ca2+ in perfused rabbit hearts.

Deficiency of choresteryl ester transfer protein and gene polymorphisms of lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase are not associated with longevity.

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is one of the key proteins in reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). The role of CETP in atherosclerosis remains controversial. In this study we investigated the associations between polymorphisms of CETP (mutations in intron 14 and exon 15, and Taq1B), hepatic lipase (C-514T), lipoprotein lipase ( PvuII and HindIII), and ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 (R219K) loci and longevity in 256 centenarians and 190 healthy younger controls.

Preconditioning with heat shock further improved functional recovery in young adult but not in middle-aged rat hearts.

Ischemic preconditioning (PC) improves post-ischemic function, and heat shock (HS) mimics delayed PC in young animals. However, PC is not protective and the consequences of HS are not known in the aging hearts. This report examines the efficacy of HS and its synergy with PC in the middle-aged rat hearts.

Aging abolishes the cardioprotective effect of combination heat shock and hypoxic preconditioning in reperfused rat hearts.

Hypoxic preconditioning (HP) does not improve post-ischemic function in the hearts of aging rats secondary to failure of protein kinase C (PKC) activation, but the effect of heat shock (HS) or preconditioning has not been studied. We studied whether HS increases tolerance to ischemia and whether its combination with HP would restore the cardioprotective effect in aging rat hearts. HS was performed in 12- and 50-week-old rats.

Long-term effect of lipid-lowering therapy on atherosclerosis of abdominal aorta in patients with hypercholesterolemia: noninvasive evaluation by a new image analysis program.

Recent clinical studies have demonstrated that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors are effective in the prevention of cardiovascular events and regression of atherosclerotic lesions evaluated by angiography. In this study, the authors investigated how lipid-lowering therapy effects on the progression of aortic atherosclerosis by using plain and enhanced computed tomography (CT) of the lower abdominal aorta. Twenty-nine hyperlipidemic patients (mean age 61.